The Philippines is home to a nation on the brink of change. As time passes by, the country’s educational system is evolving, continuously taking steps to align its teaching methods with that of the world’s standards. International schools in the Philippines are hubs of the diversity flooding the country. While teaching methods may vary, materials like classic literature continue to bring major impact to the progressing generation rooted in awareness and change.
The Importance of Literature
It is true that there are endless streams of information found throughout the world of the World Wide Web. But while digital information remains abundant in the 21st century, there is little that can teach life lessons that will prepare them for the challenge of engaging with new people, learning about the past, knowing about their environment and incorporating positive personal values.
Literature Develops Empathy
Parents who expose their children to the tales of others – fictional or otherwise – may be pleasantly surprised to know that their children do learn from the stories told to them, even if they do not experience it directly. Through the medium of storytelling, they can expand their horizons – they can learn about a foreign culture; the happenings of the past and the present; the motivation of others; and even how people empathize with each other in various situations.
Literature Can Be Fun
There is a common stereotype wherein parents are shown to read their children stories before bed. There is a reason it is so popular, and that is because it is fun! Reading to children allows them to experience a kind of delight and pleasure that only listeners of a story could have – they are allowed the freedom to create their own interpretations of the happenings within the confines of what the story presents. Not only will this expand their creativity, but it will also improve their listening skills.
Literature Improves Learning
Discussing literature allows children to analyse things like cause and effect, character motivation, settings, creative responses, and the like. In addition, doing so will also teach them to communicate their thoughts and feelings about it to others. This may even go so far as to inspire them to write their own – one of literary exposure’s most desirable effects.
The advantages of exposing children to literature abound. Encourage your children to get into reading various topics. From fantasy, to biographies, to even the scientific – they are bound to learn something no matter what the genre. Whether they develop their empathy, their imagination, or even their vocabulary, either way, all are useful building blocks for their holistic development.
